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Ask HN: Founders, what would you tell yourself at 15?

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Ask HN: Founders, what would you tell yourself at 15?

#1

Post by craigmc »

I've been invited to do a talk tomorrow to a group of 15 year olds about startups. This is something I want to commit a lot of time over the coming years to do, and tomorrow is my debut.

Scotland, where I live, has an incredible history of invention, but the days of Scottish engineers and inventors changing the world are in the increasingly distant past (even Dolly the Sheep has been dead for 10 years).

It has never, for example, produced a software company of note (other than maybe OWL for those who know their hypertext history). I'd like to see this change, and my hunch is that if you can plant some seeds in the minds of enough smart 15 year olds, then by the time these kids are 20-25 they are going to be way better placed to do great things.

In some places (i.e. SV) this can happen serendipitously through interactions with cousins, sisters, neighbours, etc. who are in the industry, but when the ecosystem is so well hidden (as it is here), most kids just don't know about this stuff until much later on (i.e during Uni).

Anyway, I've got quite a good bunch of slides pulled together and I speak fairly well at these sort of things (its no Steve Jobs commencement address, but it is ok).

However, I wanted to round the talk off with a bit of a discussion about ways to put themselves in the best position to do whatever it is they want to do, even if they don't know what it is yet.

Any thoughts on this would be most welcome...

Re: Ask HN: Founders, what would you tell yourself at 15?

#2

Post by keenahn »

Here are my top three pieces of advice I wish I had at 15:

Remember: every website you use, every app on your phone, was built by people just like you. There is nothing magical or mystical about technology. Technology is just a tool, and you can learn to master it to solve problems.

If you can see problems in the world, be it not remembering to walk the dog, or being annoyed with washing your car, you probably have an idea for a business. It might not be a billion dollar business, but it will get you thinking.

Get in the habit of starting things. We spend so much of our life planning, waiting, when we should be trying, iterating.

Re: Ask HN: Founders, what would you tell yourself at 15?

#6

Post by lumens »

Be biased towards action and interpret 'failure' as education and opportunity.

At 15, you can explore a number of avenues that you consider 'dreams'. Spend 2-year blocks of time focused on an outcome, and then 'pivot' after two years if you enthusiasm has begun to wane.

In 10 years, by age 25, you will have built a large knowledge base around your interests. You will be adept at 1 and 5 core areas of expertise. You will have either discovered an extremely rewarding life/work path, or have created tremendous employment opportunities for yourself in areas of fair interest. You will know how to teach yourself.

Best of all, at the tender age of 25, your worst case scenario is having almost your whole professional life to fumble around like everyone else.

Re: Ask HN: Founders, what would you tell yourself at 15?

#7

Post by nicholas73 »

I wish I knew how much I could do at age 15. Once you complete one large project, it feels like you can just keep trying. Yet you will never have so much time as you did in your teens. I would tell my younger self to just work on something, even if not a start up. Work on something just so you can see yourself improving. That way one day you won't ever think something is impossible.
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